Short Summary

The opening stages of the 18th International Moroccan Motor Rally's first leg saw the lead shared by four drivers from Finland and one each from Sweden and West Germany.

Description

The opening stages of the 18th International Moroccan Motor Rally's first leg saw the lead shared by four drivers from Finland and one each from Sweden and West Germany.

Before reaching the overnight stopover at Fez on the 1,982-kilometre leg from ??? to Marrakech, the field had been reduced to 88 cars from the original 105 entrants. Of those, 15 were knocked-out in the pre-rally run from Casablanca to Rabat.

The field is dominated by French-made cars. A total of 14 manufacturers from 12 countries are represented in the event, which is regarded as the best in the Arab world. Drivers and vehicles have to cover a distance of 4,083 kilometres (2,537 miles), including the final stage over difficult desert tracks through the Atlas Mountains.

In the lead in the early stages was Markku Alen (Finland) and Bo Waldegaard (Sweden), both in Fiats; they were followed by H. Nikkola (Finland) in a Paugeot and N. Rohrl (West Germany) in an Opel-Ascona; T. Makinen (Finland) and R. Aaltonen (Finland), both in Peugeots were next in the order of running.